ABSTRACT
The paucity of monographs in the English language on the subject of the islands reflects the fact that the issue has only become highly publicised and politicised since 2010. This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book benefits from having been written after a key phase of the dispute in the year 2012, when changes in a number of parameters of Chinese and Japanese foreign and security policies became tangible. In terms of existing literature specific to the islands dispute, not everything that has been written contains the 'deep roots in history' bias. At unit level, the book accounted for leaders' perceptions of systemic changes, regime type, domestic politics and ideology - with a focus on nationalism. As political force, nationalism can be deployed by state elite to mobilise national resources towards a foreign policy goal, or to apply pressure on the rival country at the negotiating table.
